On the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the declared “War on Drugs” established under former Richard M. Nixon, President Barack Obama’s administration got a “C” on a new report card on their efforts over the past year to reform, if not end, the drug war, which has turned out to be a “war against poor and powerless black people across the country,” according The Institute of the Black World 21st Century.

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Poster held during a protest outside Chicago Police headquarters in September 2010. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte

After seven years of litigation, on July 29, 2014, the City of Chicago provided Jamie Kalven, founder and principal staff member of the Invisible Institute, with a batch of documents on police misconduct that took place between 2001 and 2008.

According to Kalven, the list of misconduct reports involved police officers assigned to “public housing south” and those who participated in any of the Chicago Police Department’s “early intervention” programs. The documents were produced by the city as a result of “Bond v. Utreras” and other lawsuits.

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A Journalist View of Drug War Impact on Public Housing Communities

Mary C. Piemonte talking about federal drug-related rules and regulations for public houisng tenants across the country at Northwestern Law School on Feb. 21, 2014.

A Heated Debate on the U.S Drug War

Ethan Nadelman Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance debating with former DEA administrator Peter Bensinger about whether to legalize drugs or not at Northwestern University Law School on Feb. 20, 2014. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte

How Other Countries Deal with Drug Use

Franz Trautmann, head of the Unit International Affairs of the Trimbos Institute talking about how European countries deal with illegal drugs activities during the "Rethinking the War on Drugs" symposium at Northwestern University Law School Feb. 21, 2014. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte

Raw Footage of the Restorative Justice Event at the Adler School of Psychology

Participants at the restorative justice event at the Adler School of Psychology on Jan 28 2014. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte

My Published Reports on the National War on Drugs for Northwestern Univerisity Medill School of Jouralism Soical Justice Nexus News Fellowship

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin from Illinois speaks at a recent conference on reforming the War on Drugs. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte.

My News Video Production of Gary Mayor talking about Drug Courts

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson speaking at a symposium on the War on Drugs at Northwestern Law School in mid-February 2014. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte.

My News Video Production of a Federal Prosecutor’s Report on Chicago Crime

U.S Attorney Zachary Fardon talking about Chicago crime during a symposium at Northwestern University Law School in mid February 2014. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte

My Raw Video Footage of Toni Preckwinkle on “Racial” Disparities in Cook County Justice System

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle talking about the racial composition and the inequalities committed against the majority of African American and Latino prisoners awaiting or serving sentences at the County Jail on Jan. 13, 2014. Photo by Mary C. Piemonte